Mental wanderings of a common man.

Oil Rig explodes in gulf – no this is not a repeat of a months-old story

Working the customer base that I do (federal agencies) this time of year is especially busy. Adding to that is my company’s annual sales meeting, currently ongoing. That means I’m in a lot of meetings this week, often without any contact via voice or e-mail. One of my usual contacts told me that the Coast Guard was responding to an explosion on a rig off the coast of Louisiana. I honestly thought he was kidding for a moment but I see, now that I’m out of the latest meeting, that this is a new event:

An offshore petroleum rig exploded and was burning Thursday in the Gulf of Mexico about 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay.

A spokesman for the Coast Guard told Fox News Radio that all 13 crew members on the rig are alive and have been safely accounted for. One person was injured in the blast, though the extent of that worker’s injury was not known.

The rig, which is in about 2,500 feet of water, is owned by Mariner Energy of Houston and located 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay along the central Louisiana coast.

No details are available as yet as to the cause, whether or not the rig was actually pumping oil or gas, or whether anyone was even aboard. More to come as I hear more.